Sid's Jottings

• One big key for Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater's success this year will be the play of receiver Cordarrelle Patterson "He's having a great preseason," Bridgewater said. "He's working extremely hard. He has that mindset as if he wants to be the best receiver in the league and he comes out in practice and he's making catches across the middle, he's going up and winning jump-ball battles. He's precise in his route-running, and that's what we expect from Cordarrelle and that entire wide receiver room."

• While the Twins aren't consistent when it comes to scoring runs, two of the players they let go after last season because they weren't producing here continue to have good years. Kendrys Morales entered Saturday hitting .286 with 13 home runs, 83 RBI and 51 runs scored for Kansas City, while Chris Colabello was hitting .324 with 11 home runs, 46 RBI and 44 runs scored in 77 games for Toronto.

• While the Vikings couldn't persuade Jared Allen to play linebacker instead of defensive end, the Chicago Bears have succeeded and Allen is making that transition and will start at that position. "My body feels fresher because I'm not banging every single day and putting my hands on a 300-plus pounder and banging heads and that kind of stuff," Allen said, via ESPN.com. "I like it because it is testing my football IQ."

• John Glennon, writing for the Nashville Tennessean, on former Gopher David Cobb, who might get the starting running back job for the Titans: "It can be hard at times to judge how the running game looks when players aren't getting tackled during practice. But time and time again, rookie David Cobb seemed to be finding the right lanes and moving upfield quickly. It will be interesting to see how he fares if he gets some first-team reps Sunday against St. Louis."